Actor and director Zach Braff's efforts to use Kickstarter to fund a movie about a struggling actor's existential crisis has turned into a minor public relations crisis.

Mere hours after launching the campaign to fund production for "Wish I Was Here," the follow-up to his cult hit “Garden State,” the backlash started.

Commenters on Twitter and in the trades on Wednesday accused Braff of cynically leveraging free money from fans on behalf of Hollywood producers, who would have funded the film and acceded to his creative demands regardless.

He also suggested he isn’t asking something for nothing of his fans. Many donors will receive invites to screenings and after-parties, while one $10,000 donor will receive a speaking role in his film.

“Even the most entry-level backer will get access to an online magazine about the making of the film. If David Fincher, who I’m a huge fan of, had a video blog of the making of one of his movies, I would have been the first one there.”

For now, Braff is shrugging off the haters.

“People who don’t like what I’m doing, that’s fine. That’s the great thing about crowd-sourcing -- it’s very pragmatic. You’re into it or you’re not. There are obviously a lot of people who like the idea and will support it. I feel like we’ve all joined this little club and we’re going to make a movie together.”

Within hours, the actor managed to raise nearly half the $2 million he’s seeking. His money pool has since risen to more than $1.55 million, and he has more than four weeks to fill in the rest.

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After receiving a Donkey Kong-style pounding from critics, "Pixels," the '80s video-game themed comedy starring Adam Sandler, was edged out at the box office on its opening weekend, failing to take the No. 1 spot from "Ant-Man," which earned an estimated $24.8 million.